Technology & Engineering

Helicopters

(section: 3 / paragraph: f / line: 2)

2016-11-14 21:21 What defines a single bladed rotor? Would a single stick of wood projecting out horizontally from the body be considered a "lifting surface" that "rotates on a common path around a vertical axis"?

No, that would not be considered a lifting surface. To be considered a lifting surface, it must contribute lift to the overall flying assembly. An easy way to demonstrate that would be to demonstrate flying it with and without the surface, if the surface is not present then the flight would be significantly different.

Electric Vehicle

(section: 2 / paragraph: c / line: 1)

2016-11-14 20:22 Clearly batteries must be less than 9V, but can we use step-up regulator to generate 12 V?

No, the voltage across any two points ≤ 9 V as stated by the manufacturer labels. If a step-up regulator steps a 9V battery up to 12V, this would be a violation.

(section: 2 / paragraph: g / line: 1-2)

2016-11-04 08:06 How is "leading part of the vehicle" defined? Is it the forward-most part in the direction of the vehicle's travel or the closest part to the Target Point?

The "leading part of the vehicle" is the forward-most part in the direction of the vehicle's travel.

(section: 5 / paragraph: j / line: 1)

2016-11-03 16:42 Is the vehicle permitted to be propelled backwards outside of the run time (as defined in 5k)?

No. The rule is clear. ...please see rule 5.g.

Robot Arm

Towers - Div C

(section: 5 / paragraph: b / sub-paragraph: v / line: 1)

2016-12-01 22:21 For the load scored bonus, the tower must be clear of the 29.0 cm diameter circle. Is this during setup only or also during loading (prior to tower failure)?

The Load Scored Bonus is awarded only if the tower is outside of the 29.0 cm diameter circle through the entire testing. If the tower sags inside of the 29.0 cm circle during testing but the bucket remains off the ground and the tower is still outside the 20.0 x 20.0 cm opening on the Test Base, testing will continue until failure occurs as defined in the rules.